Aid Fund of the NSDAP

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The Aid Fund of the NSDAP was an accident and liability insurance for SA , SS and NSDAP members as well as members of other branches and affiliated associations, such as the NSKK . Under the direction of Martin Bormann it was settled in the Reich Treasury of the NSDAP . From 1941 it operated there under the name “Hauptamt VII - Sozialamt”.

Idea and history

Since the NSDAP and in particular the SA in the political conflict during the Weimar Republic, which was characterized by numerous, often life-threatening acts of violence, repeatedly had more or less severely injured or even dead members to complain about, after the reorganization of the SA, its first colonel SA- Leader (OSAF) Franz Pfeffer took the initiative from Salomon to organize financial security for their membership. Under the name “ SA-Versicherung ”, he initially worked with private insurance companies such as the Stuttgart-Berliner- or the Albingia-Versicherungsgesellschaft, both of which were renowned accident and liability insurers. The insurance premium was 0.20 Reichsmarks (RM). However, problems soon arose because the SA could not mobilize as many of its members to take out insurance as the insurers assumed when calculating costs. Furthermore, the policies mostly did not cover the most frequent cases of damage, such as damage to property during battles in the hall and personal injury from brawls. When the contracts were therefore terminated, a legal dispute ensued between the NSDAP and the insurers, as a result of which the NSDAP tried to stir up a media campaign against the allegedly “Jewishness” insurance industry and the associated high finance. At the same time, those people in the NSDAP who sought an independent, party-internal solution prevailed.

Cooperation with the "German Ring"

Since the party had meanwhile been working with the insurance company “ Deutscher Ring ”, which was originally oriented towards Germany and established in the industry, corresponding contracts were signed with the NSDAP in 1929. Above all, death benefit insurance for NSDAP members and their relatives was agreed. In the same year the “Deutsche Ring” was also the carrier of the accident and liability insurance of the SA for a short time. The National Socialist Insurance Aid, an advice center at the NSDAP Reichsleitung, worked as a covert general agency of the German Ring and paid the NSDAP commissions for their insurance brokerage . At the same time, the Deutsche Ring hired numerous unemployed NSDAP members as advertisers.

The creation of the relief fund

Ultimately, the ideas of Bormann were taken up by Franz Xaver Schwarz , Reich Treasurer of the NSDAP, and the OSAF Franz Pfeffer von Salomon to take over the financial aid on their own. Because the relief fund, which works according to the motto “One for All - All for One”, is a “work of genuine German socialism”. It was founded on September 1, 1930. Under the direction of Martin Bormann , the office, which was originally part of the Supreme SA leadership, has now moved to the party's treasury as an auxiliary fund for the NSDAP and is divided into the following departments:

  • General help for the wounded
  • Aid to the wounded for motorcyclists
  • Property damage fund
  • Musical instrument insurance

With a monthly contribution of RM 0.30 for general aid to the wounded and RM 1 for aid to the wounded for motorcyclists, it should be possible to pay RM 2,000 in the event of death, RM 5,000 for total disability and RM 3 daily sickness benefit for all injuries caused by party service. Not least in order to evade state supervision by the Reich Insurance Office, the members of the party had no legal right to benefits. Due to the large number of cases to be taken care of, the contribution that SS members had to pay has meanwhile been increased to RM 0.60. After the " seizure of power ", the number of paying members increased so much that, for example, the special fund for motorcyclists was dissolved and the benefits incurred could now be easily covered from the general contribution. In fact, the relief fund was already making significant profits before 1933, most of which went to the Reichszeugmeisterei responsible for equipping the SA . The property damage fund served as liability insurance for public NSDAP events. The premium was based on the capacity of the event rooms and was at least 2 RM for up to 200 and a maximum of 6 RM for over 1,000 people.

The relief fund after 1933

Even if the violent political conflicts after the seizure of power and thus the original motivation for founding the relief fund no longer existed, the agency continued to exist. The focus was now on the handling of support services for accidents in the service of the movement, for example on the fringes of mass rallies such as the Nazi party rallies . After the enactment of the "Law on the Supply of Fighters of the National Revolt" on February 27, 1934, the relief fund now also made payments to the surviving dependents of party members who were listed in the specially maintained "Honor List of the Murdered of the Movement" or the "List of the NSDAP" had been recorded. The relief fund also processed the payment of an “ honorary salary ” to the bereaved of “fighters who fell in the struggle of the movement for the freedom of the German people”. The honorary salary was symbolically brought into being on November 9, 1934, the anniversary of the Hitler coup . Exactly one year later, "honorary support" for severely disabled " old fighters " of the NSDAP was added.

Statistical

Between 1927/28 and 1932, around 24,000 injuries and deaths were reported to the SA insurance:

  • 1928: 360 (5 dead)
  • 1929: 881 (9 dead)
  • 1930: 2,463 (18 dead)
  • 1931: 6,307 (46 dead)
  • 1932: 14,005 (85 dead)

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